About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

Statement of Integrity and Guidelines

Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
These are my guidelines:

1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

5. Any sample received over 30 ml in volume is shared with fellow whisky bloggers. In any event, no sample larger than 100 ml will be accepted.

6. No advertisements promoting specific brands will be accepted.

7. I will answer any inquiry by my readers as quickly and as fully as possible.

8. Should I give a link purchase the reviewed whisky, it will be given free of any commercial interest. The link given will always point to cheapest selling price I found on the web. No commission is paid, nor any other consideration given, for such link.

9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

A Short Flight to Ireland – Jameson’s Caskmates

I have to start off this series of reviews of Irish whiskey with a confession: I’m not a big fan of triple distilled whiskey. This is not snobbery, I just find that the third distillation adds a certain musty note that I find rather disagreeable (yes, also in most Auchentoshan expressions). Yet, in a category with so many different whiskies and the care that goes into crafting those that are higher up on the rungs, it is incumbent upon me to keep tasting and trying different expressions, and try to asses them for what they are. I’ll also answer the question I know is on the tip of your tongue: No, I don’t find that note in either Springbank or Mortlach, and have not had the opportunity to actually sit down seriously with Springbank’s Hazelburn (other than a quick taste of the 12 year old) to actually see how I fare with it.

With that caveat aside, I took to tasting a flight of Irish whiskies which included the Jameson Caskmates, four Redbreast expressions and a Cooley in a Madeira finish.

This first expression is the Jameson Caskmates. I’ll admit to have come to this whiskey with absolutely no expectations. I mean a NAS Jameson, at 40% ABV, right? WRONG!!

This dram was actually surprising, going well beyond anything I expected. The story of this expression is that some Jameson whiskey was finished in casks that were seasoned with Cork’s Franciscan Well Brewery stout, and they even made a cute video

The result is surprisingly good, to the point of me wondering how it would be at cask strength. That happens for me only with drams I like.

Photo Credit: alcoholreviews.com

Jameson Caskmates (40% ABV)

Appearance: Copper, thin and quick legs.

Nose: White wine, pineapple, coconut, pine nettles, some herbal notes, thyme, lemongrass and a hint of eucalyptus. After some time you get light pickle in vinegar with some bourbon like notes.

Linger: Sweet on the tongue with bitter citrus in the back of the throat, with overtones of spice. The finish is surprisingly bitter and very rewarding.

Conclusion

Definitely a dram that exceeded any expectation I had of it. I was honestly expecting a NASty triple distilled disaster, and was wholly taken by surprise by this expression. This is actually a bottle I’d buy….